Over the last six years, roaring bears and raging bulls both have had their turns to be right about financial markets. But investing success in the next market phase could be far more about pinpointing individual opportunities than riding a wave. This is when it should pay for a money manager to have maximum flexibility: the option to go almost anywhere with investors' dollars in search of decent returns. That could include stocks, bonds, real estate or commodities, for example.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Popular image-sharing service Imgur has finished its first round of funding: $40 million from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz with a small investment from news website Reddit. The San Francisco company received a valuation of about $200 million, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it publicly. With 130 million visiting the site each month, Imgur -- which the company pronounces as "imager" -- has become one of the Internet's most popular hangouts by capturing the fundamental shift in how people express themselves and communicate on the Internet: through sharing images.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court struck another major blow against long-standing restrictions on campaign money Wednesday, freeing wealthy donors to each give a total of $3.6 million this year to the slate of candidates running for Congress. Rejecting the restriction as a violation of free speech, the 5-4 ruling struck down a Watergate-era limit that Congress wrote to prevent a single donor from writing a large check to buy influence on Capitol Hill. It was the latest sign that the court's conservative majority intends to continue dismantling funding limits created over the last four decades.

Healthcare advocates Tuesday urged the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to set aside at least $11 million in additional funding for free medical services for low-income residents - including immigrants lacking legal status - who remain uninsured under Obamacare. Members of the faith-based coalition One L.A., labor groups and community healthcare organizations told reporters and board members that failing to expand a county program to serve thousands more poor and undocumented residents would endanger public health.

Dozens of students rallied at a meeting of the California State University governing board Wednesday, chanting and hoisting signs that urged the chancellor and trustees to roll back "success fees" that are raising costs on many campuses. More than 100 students marched in front of the police-guarded entrance of the chancellor's Long Beach office shouting, "We got 99 problems and student debt is one," and "No cuts, no fees, education should be free. " Campuses in San Diego and Fullerton recently joined nine others in enacting the fees to help pay for more classes, faculty hiring, counseling and other services.

The Autry National Center of the American West is hoping lots of people will get their kicks by giving money online to help fund its coming exhibition “Route 66: The Road and the Romance.” The Autry, which will open the show June 8, joins the likes of the Louvre and the Smithsonian Institution's Asian art museums in using a “crowdfunding” site to lasso donations. The Autry can appeal to people who otherwise might not know of the L.A. museum's existence but are fans of Route 66 and its manifestations in pop culture.

A Los Angeles County judge signaled Tuesday that Department of Water and Power union chief Brian D'Arcy will have to turn over records showing how two nonprofit trusts he co-directs used $40 million in ratepayer money. D'Arcy has been locked in a political and legal struggle over control of the financial information since September, following a Times report that managers at the utility had only scant information on how the money was spent. In January, City Controller Ron Galperin issued a subpoena to D'Arcy and the nonprofits demanding that they turn over internal ledgers and bank records covering the last five years.

SACRAMENTO - Millions of dollars in welfare benefits are ending up in banks' pockets each year when poor Californians access their taxpayer-funded benefits, according to state statistics and a report released Tuesday. Like many other states, California issues electronic cards to welfare recipients so they can withdraw public assistance from ATMs. Last year, $18.9 million was spent on ATM fees. The year before they topped $19.4 million. The state welfare system allows recipients to make four free withdrawals per month at ATMs run by MoneyPass, part of U.S. Bank.

The troubled Central Basin Municipal Water District violated the state's open meeting laws when it created a $2.7-million fund in virtual secrecy, an investigation by the agency's attorneys concluded. The fund, created for a groundwater storage project, was managed without public hearings or notifications, and records related to it were among those subpoenaed by federal prosecutors. The subpoenas came after an FBI raid on the Sacramento offices of state Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello)

The troubled Central Basin Municipal Water District violated the state's open-meeting laws when it created a $2.7-million fund in virtual secrecy, an investigation by the agency's attorneys concluded. The fund, created for a groundwater storage project, was managed without public hearings or notifications, and records related to it were among those subpoenaed by federal prosecutors. The subpoenas came after an FBI raid on the Sacramento offices of state Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello)